Lamar Odom is a walking miracle.
The two-time NBA champion and Los Angeles Laker nearly died after a drug overdose at a Las Vegas brothel, prompting him to be placed in a coma, where he suffered multiple strokes and heart attacks. Although he made it out and doctors said it was a miracle that he made it out of the medical emergency alive, Odom hasn’t had the easiest road to recovery.
His story is set to be the subject of an upcoming Netflix Sports documentary, “Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom.” In the documentary, Odom will give candid testimony about his rise in basketball, his marriage to Khloe Kardashian, his battles with drug addiction and his near-fatal overdose.
In a 2018 interview with Kevin Hart, Odom said that he endured 12 strokes and six heart attacks while he was in a coma, a fact he reiterates in the trailer for the documentary.
“That’s not no average sh-t,” Odom says.
At one point, Odom gets candid about the afterlife, saying that it is “not what people make it out to be.”
The documentary offers a sobering look into Odom’s life and in the days that have followed, he’s had good days and bad ones. In January, he was pulled over for DUI in Las Vegas but now says he’s about 56 to 57 days sober, according to Page Six.
“No alcohol, no pot, no marijuana,” he said. “And I’m just [continuing] to grow mentally and spiritually. I do try to be my best self and practice the Mamba mentality, which has been passed down to me by my late brother [Kobe Bryant].”
Among Odom’s visitors following his 2015 overdose was Bryant. The five-time NBA champion and Odom had grown close since Odom was traded from the Miami Heat to the Lakers in 2004 and the pair won two titles in 2009 and 2010. Although Odom was not aware of Bryant’s presence while he was hospitalized, knowing that his former teammate was there meant a lot.
“To know that he was there… When I’m reflecting on it, I think that’s probably what pulled me through. The love that I was getting from everybody. It’s always good to have support, and of course support from your brothers,” Odom said.
Bryant died in January 2020 in a helicopter crash. Since his death, the Lakers have immortalized him with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena, and fans across the globe have mourned the late Lakers superstar in their own way, from memorial tattoos to living by his Mamba Mentality.
Odom says he’s focusing on continued personal growth.
“I’m trying to read a lot more [and] sharpen up my brain,” he told Page Six. “When I woke up [from the 2015 coma], they told me I would never walk and talk again….And so, every day is a blessing.”
“Untold: The Death and Life of Lamar Odom” airs on Netflix on March 31.
